


Be the Serpent Under't

by vanishedSchism



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Demonstuck, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishedSchism/pseuds/vanishedSchism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sollux Captor is a demon and a hunter spy. His best friend is Karkat Vantas, a hunter who wants vengeance for his dead mother.<br/>His father is courting the demon responsible and the Coventry is planning something big.<br/>Basically, everything goes to shit at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What, You Egg?

Karkat Vantas was damn good hunter. His specialty was demons, although he certainly didn't object to taking down the occasional poltergeist or goblin. Anything to help the citizens. That's what he told people when they asked about his motivation at least, that it was all for the common good. His own reasons were his and his alone. 

 

However, despite his standoffish attitude, he had a number of friends, and even a successful, if somewhat unusual, partner. Together they took down a great many demons, although neither was willing to accept the credit they deserved for such an achievement. Yes, Karkat was a great hunter, but this story isn't about him, it's about Sollux Captor, a young boy who was almost as good at what he did, and was, coincidentally, a demon.

\--------

Sollux was usually fairly cautious about wandering outside when the sun was up. The sun didn't actually hurt him, although he wasn't incredibly fond of the brightness, but with increased light came increased visibility, for humans anyway, and that meant the young demon had to take a couple of precautionary measures every time he went out. Unlike demons that were Corrupted after years of being human, or even halflings, to an extent, Sollux could neither change his appearance nor sheathe his fangs. Oh the hardships of a pureblood. 

Still, it wouldn't do to be wandering around with his pointed ears, fangs and dichromatic eyes in plain sight, so Sollux had developed some camouflage measures. Brown contacts took care of his eyes, which were his most noticeable demonic feature, and a hood, along with his somewhat thick, black hair concealed his ears. He'd learned to talk without revealing his fangs, although the only way he could hide the inhuman hiss in his voice was with a fake lisp. He didn't talk to other humans too often, but his "speech impediment" had never given him away before, so he figured it must work. 

He took these precautions every time he went out, but just because he was careful doesn't mean he was always paying attention. Suddenly someone whispered, "You're out early" in his ear. Sollux immediately whirled and jammed his elbow where he expected the assailant's stomach to be. He was thrown off balance as the limb hit nothing but open air, and fell straight into his attacker. Before he could react, his arms were pinned to his sides. He immediately bit one arms holding him, but got nothing but a mouthful of sweater. Frustrated, he growled as his attacker laughed, then let him go. 

It wasn't until Sollux stumbled backwards and looked up that he realized he knew the person who had just surprised him, and he accordingly treated Karkat to one of his best glares. The hunter was still smirking.  
"If I had a knife, you'd be dead." 

"If you had a knife, you wouldn't pull it in the middle of the thtreet," Sollux immediately shot back. Of course, none of the humans around here could actually be depended on for stopping an assailant with a knife, a fact that Sollux was usually grateful for, but that didn't mean that anyone with a brain wouldn't think twice before pulling out a weapon in plain sight. 

Karkat shrugged. "I guess that's valid, but the point remains, you need to pay attention." He frowned, then took a couple steps back. After a long look at Sollux, he disappeared into a nearby alley.  
Sollux sighed, looked around, then followed him. Karkat was standing in the sliver of sun, arms crossed. "So what's up?"

"Doeth thomething have to be 'up'?"

"It does when any person in his right mind would have heard me sneaking up, or at the very least not freak the fuck out."

Sollux supposed that logic was sound enough. 

"Fine, I'm a little dithtracted," he conceded. 

"No fucking shit. I asked why asshole." 

"Demon shit." 

"That's not a fucking answer Sollux!" He flinched a little at the use of his name, especially now of all times, but he knew Karkat was just concerned. 

"It'th the Coventry. Thomething big is about to happen, but no one'th talking about it… I mean, you can practically thlithe the thenthe of antithipation in the air, but I have no idea why and no one'th told Dad anything either." Sollux frowned and didn't continue. It was okay, Karkat knew what was going on. The Coventry was a network of elite demons headed by Her Imperious Condenscion Herself. How exactly Sollux had become a spy for some of the hunters in the area, who had their own networks, was a long story involving mistaken identity, debts, betrayal, and of course a whole lot of demons but the point was, as far as information went, Sollux was a very dependable ally, and a good snoop. His father, an ancient demon that went by the title The Psionic, didn't actively snoop, but knew about his son's occupation and passed along tidbits when he could. As far as Sollux knew, nobody had ever gotten suspicious of his father, but the fact that neither of them had heard anything about what was certain to be a big event made the demon uneasy and, as Karkat had observed, jumpy. 

Karkat nodded. Sometimes he found himself regretting getting Sollux involved in all this shit, but whenever he started thinking that way, he laughed and told himself, 'he's a fucking demon, there's no way he wouldn't be involved in this shit'. One further refection though, he realized without his intervention, his friend, his partner, would probably be on the other side.

"I guess that means you don't want to hunt tonight."

He sighed. "Yeah, I thould probably thtay away from hunterth for a bit, at leatht until the thuthpithion clearth." 

"Damn right. You shouldn't even be out right now, especially if you're going to kill the first person that touches you." 

"Doing anything different from uthual ith the worthy thing I can do right now. Bethideth, there'th thome information I need to verify."

"Well you know what's best, but don't do anything too stupid." 

He gave Sollux a long look, then walked off. 

Sollux watched Karkat leave, then headed for the small park this side of the city. 

\----  
Downtown spread out over quite a distance, but it only had one park. Sollux supposed he should be grateful there was even one park, apparently that wasn't too common for the business hub of a bustling city, but that didn't really excuse how tiny the thing was. 

Really it wasn't more than a rectangle of grass with a ring of trees around the edges and a cluster of picnic tables in the middle. It was late afternoon right now, so all the businessmen were getting their last hour or so of drudging work done before they would go home, but at lunch time every coat and shade of tie Sollux could imagine would be packed like candies onto the little benches. Now though, the crowd was considerably sparser. A couple of children were kneeling in the flowers, making daisy chains while who Sollux assumed to be their father chatted away on his phone, a woman walked her dachshund, and two ladies in horrible sweaters argued about something or other. 

Strangely enough, they all seemed to be clustered on one side of the park. Sollux saw why as soon as he walked in. On the far side of the park was a burly man who, although he wasn't glaring, had such an air of 'don't mess with me' that everyone had subconsciously avoided him. 

Sollux grinned to himself, he'd never actually seen the guy, but he'd bet anything that that was the Exile he'd heard so much about. 

Making sure no one was watching, he casually exited the park and used the sidewalk to loop around behind the corner where the man had been sitting. He slipped under the over of the trees, so he could see the inside of the park and, careful not to step on any of the dead leaves on the ground, slowly snuck nearer to his target's bench. Anticipating he may have to deal with this man again, Sollux decided he'd rather not introduce himself right now, so once he was sure the coast was clear, he climbed the nearest tree. 

From his new vantage point he could clearly see that not only was this the man he was looking for, but as far as he could tell, all the rumors were true. 

Apparently Darkleer had once been one of the most powerful and feared of the Ancients, but something happened a long time ago that made him change his ways. The demon's strength was clearly, well, strength, as well as medical experiments, although those were shrouded in mystery.

What was plain though was that he was nearly twice as tall as Sollux and not that it was saying much, but far, far more muscular.

Still, even concealed by the bulging muscles, Sollux could see the sickness that came with shunning their kind's primary food source. A demon couldn't live on just animals, at least not without paying a high price. Although the blood was necessary, it was a human's emotions that provided the real nourishment. From lust to wrath to even hunger, demons needed that insubstantial idea, and often ended up specializing in one or the other, and Darkleer personified the neglect of that food source. 

The demon's skin was pasty and thin, with clear blue veins visible just underneath the surface, and his pointed ears and near-clawed hands demonstrated the fading ability to keep his demonic features at bay. Sollux could event see the scars from desperate tears on the man's wrists as he assumed Darkleer had tried to nourish himself with his own blood. 

He made mental notes of all this information. Everyone knew Darkleer had exiled himself from the demon community, and the Legion, those hunters that Sollux worked for, were wondering if the man could be persuaded to join them. It was not unheard of for a demon to help hunters, as Sollux himself did, but those who were willing to were few and far between. 

Even from just a cursory glance, Sollux could tell he didn't want Darkleer on his side. Not because he wanted to make an enemy out of the demon, but because he was too much of a wildcard. As if his wrists didn't give it away, there was a desperation in the man's posture that promised as soon as he cracked, he would be willing to do anything to get the food he had been deprived of for so long. Sollux didn't trust desperation and although he'd probably get yelled at for it later, he decided this demon was a bust, and it was better just to leave him alone.  
Making sure the coast was clear, Sollux scurried back down the tree and headed off to his rendezvous point. 

\-----

Deciding on where to meet the hunters hadn't been easy. Sollux had to balance not only the desire to remain unseen, but also how natural it would look for him to approach the place on a semi-regular basis. It turned out that more humans around tended to be better, because most demons preferred to avoid crowds. 

The perfect place turned out to be the local mall. Sollux made his way to the food court and bought a drink, then scanned for his correspondent. It was concerning how easy he was to spot. 

Sollux had known that the person he was meeting was a newbie, but did he have to be so glaringly obvious? No one but a Hunter, or maybe a very sketchy human, wore a dark trench coat in a public place. The pockets and bagginess were of course the best camouflage for guns and ammo, but they were also immediately recognized as such. Any demon in their right mind would approach a person dressed like that as if they were a Hunter until proven otherwise. Sollux considered just turning back and leaving Jake there, but given his position.. well, he didn't want the Coalition to start thinking he was useless, or worse, traitorous. Sollux hadn't joined under the best conditions and if he stepped too far out of line.. No, it was best to just talk to the idiot and try and get out of here as soon as possible. 

He took one more glance around the area, just to make sure he wasn't being watched, then walked up to the hunter's table, took a sip of his drink, then sat down. He watched his correspondent, waiting for him to make the first move. The hunter did not disappoint. 

"G'Afternoon Chap! I never thought I'd get to see someone like you this close, except on the end of a barrel of course!" He chuckled to himself as if that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever said, then extended his hand for Sollux to shake. 

"I'm Jake English."

Sollux considered the hand, then slowly shook it, claws sheathed in public.  
"I'm sure you already know who I am." 

He noted with annoyance how Jake stared at his mouth as he talk, as if hoping to catch a glance of the fangs he was so careful to speak around. 

Jake's eyes widened as he nodded vigorously, as if he suddenly remembered that this meeting was supposed to be secret. 

"Of course, right, right." He seemed to sober. "We actually have something pretty important we need you to investigate. There are rumors going around about the Conventry. Apparently they're planning something pretty big. We need you-"

"Yeah, yeah invethtigate, I know. I've been keeping an ear out, but I don't know what it'th about."

Jake frowned. 

"Look Laddie, I get that it's scary to give us that kind of intel, but it's really important we know." He grimaced, then continued. "We can hurt you more than they can." 

Sollux grit his teeth. "I'll let you know."

"See to it you do. Are we done here?"

"Don't you want to know about the Exile?"

"That's no longer of any importance."

Sollux hissed in exasperation, but shut his mouth at a hard glare from the hunter. Those eyes reminded him that although he was not only expendable, but despite all his help, he was an enemy. Distinctly demonic traits, such as hissing, were to be hidden during these conversations. 

Jake nodded, then got up and left. After watching him leave out of the corner of his eye, Sollux got up too, and decided to take a wandering and circuitous route home.


	2. There is Nothing Good Or Bad But Thinking Makes it So

He didn't have anything to do, so Sollux walked slowly, taking time to reflect on his conversation with Jake. 

The hunter had _threatened_ him. For what? He hadn't actually done anything, just existed. Unfortunately, considering he was a demon, that was grounds for hunter complaint. However, INCENSED as he was, Sollux had bigger problems than rude hunters. 

So the Coventry was planning something, Jake had just confirmed it. Not that it was difficult to tell, after all, the murder rates had recently been increasing in the inner city. Nearly every newspaper carried at least one headline about a pale human body left in some alley, and a couple of them theorized serial killers. 

Demons killed people all the time of course, that was nothing new, but the humans starting to notice was worrying. For the most part, Sollux's species picked up drunks or rejects, people the city would barely even know were gone, but when affluent business men or children started to go missing, that meant the demons were getting cocky and feeling superior. 

And there was usually a reason for those sentiments. Really, Sollux couldn't blame the hunters for being concerned, all the signs seemed to point to a bloodbath in the near future. 

Sollux bit his lip, worrying it with one fang as he walked, too focused on his thoughts to be concerned by the appearance of the demonic feature. 

He sighed, and the fang disappeared back behind his lip. It was getting dark outside which meant he'd be able to hunt soon. The demon brand of hunting, not what he did with Karkat. 

As human as he tried to appear for the sake of his friend, the fact remained that there were biological factors that he simply couldn't change. A demon had to eat after all. 

Out of respect for Karkat and his human values, Sollux didn't eat as often as most species, only hunting once or twice a week instead of every other day, but even good intentions couldn't protect him from the detrimental effects. Although he has more than enough strength to overpower a fully grown adult, Sollux was weaker than the average demon. This minor difference in strength didn't matter often, but given he hadn't eaten in five days and was concerned about the Coventry, the young demon decided it was time to replenish his strength. 

The sky was the pale orange and purple of approaching night, not quite late enough for the bar scene, but exactly the time full day laborers would be returning from work. Sollux readjusted his hood, making sure his face was properly concealed from a cursory glance, then checked his surroundings. 

There were quite a few people walking along the sidewalk, but the street itself, not being in a major part of the city, didn't have too many cars. Good, too many people meant witnesses, but Sollux had a plan for how to lure a single person toward him. He stopped walking, made sure that anyone who may have seen him when he was moving before had left, then adopted an exaggerated fake limp and stumbled along the sidewalk. 

\------------

Sasha Miller was a plump, kind, middle aged woman with two daughters. Her eldest, Andrea, was in her junior year at State College. She was studying archeology, and hoping to be accepted for an internship she had applied for a month or so ago. Her sister however, who was a senior in high school, was far more interested in math and physics. Sasha hadn't been able to help either of her daughters with their homework for some years now. 

The woman had been making her way home from her office job when she saw a dark figure limping along the sidewalk. She adjusted her glasses, just to be positive she was sure of what she was seeing, after all, her eyes certainly weren't what they used to be. But no, she wasn't mistaken, it was a tall teenager, or maybe a young man, dragging himself along as if he was about to fall over at any moment. 

Without thinking, the kind woman hurried to cross the street and follow the boy, even as he limped into a dark alley. It didn't even cross her mind that they were now concealed from the majority of the passerby on the street, she was only concerned with helping the boy. 

By the time she caught up, he had collapsed in the shadows. One leg of his legs, she presumed the injured one, although the dim light prevented her from identifying the wound, was splayed out behind him, and other than harsh breathing, he wasn't moving. 

After a moment's hesitation, Sasha walked toward the fallen form and put a hand on its shoulder, intending to try to shake the kid awake. "Sweetie are you oka-"

Her question cut off as a bony hand grabbed her shoulder, and before she could properly process where it had come from, another one clapped over her mouth. She screamed, although of course no one on the street would hear it, his hand was far too efficient at muffling the sound.

How the boy that had been on the ground with an injured leg had moved so _fast_ Sasha didn't understand, and as she was reflecting on this question, he readjusted his grip so the hand that had been on her shoulder was now wrapped around her waist, and his entire arm was pulling her against him. His other hand applied just enough pressure to tilt her head back, exposing her throat. 

The part of her brain that wasn't consumed by fear tried to think of some way to tell him that although she didn't have much money on her, she'd be happy to give him her entire wallet if he'd please just leave her alone, but overall, rational thought was difficult. 

Instead of the knife she was expecting however, she felt two sharp points pressing into her neck. She just had time to wonder if he was injecting her with some kind of drug before both points pierced the skin of her neck and.. he was sucking? 

Her daughter's vampire books was flashing in her mind as there was a sucking sound and- there was no other explanation, he _had_ to be drinking her blood. She continued to ineffectually scream. 

Maybe this was some weird fetish? However, she didn't get to pursue that thought very far before blackness crept from the edge of her vision, soon dragging her in comforting darkness. 

\-------

Sollux felt the woman fall limp in his arms, then carefully detached his teeth from her neck. He lapped up the two stray beads of blood, then sat her against the wall. She'd wake up soon enough. He wiped his mouth, then emerged from the alley. 

Feeling far more satisfied now that he was full, Sollux continued the journey home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I did something kind of crazy with Sasha, I'm aware of that. I was wondering what you guys thought. Did you like getting the victim's perspective, or was that a little too unsettling? If you liked it, let me know, I'll make sure to include more vics in the future! If not, _please_ tell me and I'll make sure that never happens again. 
> 
> I'm sorry about how short that chapter was, but don't worry, I've already basically written the next one and hopefully it will make up for it.


	3. The Green-Eyed Monster

It was situations like this that really made Psionic question his life decisions. Not that he entirely minded being pinned to the cold cement of the roof by the rugged, experienced demon of suffering, but during courtship, someone had to assert his superiority, and Psionic was tired of being on the bottom. He narrowed his heterochromatic eyes at the demon on top of him, and with a faint crackle and red and blue light, the larger demon was flung to the other end of the roof. 

Psionic smiled as he got up and walked toward where the other demon had already stood up. Yes, this was much better. 

"Didn't anyone ever teach you it wass rude to ssneak up on ssomeone?"

"Funnily enough, no." He grinned. "Are you nervous?"

Psionic rolled his eyes. "You wish." He would have gone on to add a witty remark of his own, except before he could, he once more found himself on the ground, the other demon having moved too fast for him to get out of the way. 

"If you were, you might have seen that coming," the man said as he stood over the fallen demon, resting the cane against his rival's chest. 

Psionic hissed and started to get up, but Dualscar stopped him, leaning into the cane to add pressure. "Oh don't get up yet, I think you'll want to hear this."

Psionic sighed. "Fine, I'll indulge you before I kick your asss."

Dualscar mock bowed, the smirked. "I'm looking for a bit of info, something about a spy." 

Psionic's eyes widened. _Shit._ "I ssugesst you get on that then, you won't find them here."

What had Sollux gotten himself into? Although Psionic's potential relationship afforded him some protection, the Orphaner, as one of the oldest demons in this city, had his own duties when it came to the Coventry. And even if he wouldn't hurt Psionic directly, and even that wasn't guaranteed, that protection didn't extend to Sollux. 

But even though he was occasionally hotheaded and rude, Sollux was smart, and Psionic knew that the best way to ensure his son's safety was to deny whatever charge Dualscar might propose. 

"Au contraire my friend. You know what description was? Well, he's a demon, obviously, with multicolored eyes. Apparently he strongly resembles an Ancient. Any ideas who it might be?"

Psionic rolled his eyes. "I hear the Handmaid hass different eyess, why don't you try investigating her."

"Wrong answer." Dualscar said, leaning more of his weight on the cane over Psionic's ribs. 

"She'ss the only other demon with heterochromatic eyess Dual, I don't know what elsse to tell you."

"You're funny, you know that?" He asked, staring into Psionic's own red and blue eyes. "Maybe that's why I keep you around." He pushed further against the other demon's chest, causing him to gasp. "But how could you forget the color," he paused, grinning wickedly, "or should I say _colors_ , of your own beautiful eyes?"

He narrowed said beautiful eyes, sparks of the same color jumping to his hands. "Flattery will get you nowhere, I've already ssaid I don't know."

"Oh I'm sure I know exactly who it is." Dualscar said dismissively, lazily twirling a hand through the air. "But enough of that, this position is starting to get uncomfortable."

Psionic wasn't fooled, he was a psionic after all, and he could recognize the energy starting to gather in Dualscar's hand. 

"Well then, let me help you with that." He wrapped his hands, glowing with his own red and blue psionics, around the cane and pushed it off his chest. 

No sooner had one obstacle been removed however, than another presented itself, this time in the shape of the other demon dropping down to straddle his hips. Psionic hissed as his hands were grabbed and forced over his head, the energy he had noticed earlier binding them together. Dualscar leered at his face. "You know, I like this position _much_ better."

"I'm sure, now let me up."

"Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Psionic replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "maybe there'ss a bone in your body that would be nice enough to jusst leave me be."

"There's a bone in my body that wants the exact opposite of that."

"Ha ha ha." He said, flatly. 

"I know, I'm hilarious." Dualscar moved even closer to the trapped demon, hovering just above Psionic's face. One of his hands moved from Psionic's bound wrists to slide down his side. 

Psionic continued to glare. "Sso you ssay."

Dualscar paid him no mind as he leaned in to nip at the soft skin of the younger Ancient's neck. 

A low growl formed in Psionic's throat. 

"Yes I do." He nipped harder, a pearl of blood beading under the fang. 

Psionic shivered. Dualscar allowed himself a moment of satisfaction before roughly running his tongue over the wound, causing the demon under him to squirm. He tightened his legs around Psionic's hips to stop the motion. 

"What, nothing more to say? Demon got your tongue?" 

"Get off."

"Your'e repeating yourself, Dear." His hand slipped under Psionic's shirt, running over and caressing his stomach with the pads of his fingers. Then his claws pressed down. 

They were just starting to draw blood when Psionic once more decided he'd given Dualscar enough fun and bared his teeth, snapping at the bigger demon's arm. 

Dualscar cried out, then, with barely a growl, slammed the back of his hand into Psionic's jaw. Psionic hissed and glared. 

"If you wanted to be rough, you should have told me." Dualscar growled. "I'm happy to oblige." With that he returned his hand to Psionic's stomach and dug his claws in. Psionic closed his eyes. 

"I distinctly remember telling you to get off of me."

"And yet I haven't, funny, that."

\----------- 

It just so happened that Sollux was walking by, just a couple buildings away, when he heard the yell. He stopped, and now that he was listening, could hear hissing and talking. Intrigued, Sollux continued listening, moving towards the source of the sounds. Once he was under the building the noise was coming from, Sollux decided to climb a nearby tree, his curiosity only increasing with his proximity.

As he scaled the trunk, his claws incredibly helpful in that task, Sollux realized that his perch would be close enough not only for him to see what was going on on the roof, but to also to leap onto it, should he feel the need. 

He climbed until he found a fork in the branches where he could settle himself comfortably. 

He was high enough that he could see what was happening on the roof and it's a good thing that his position was so secure, because when he realized it was his dad on the ground, he was so shocked he almost fell out of the tree. Luckily he caught himself and crept closer now even more intent on what was unfolding below him. 

\--------

On the ground, Dualscar's eyes narrowed. 

Psionic smirked. "Reconssidering?"

Dualscar clamped a hand over the other demons mouth and hissed, "I suggest you stifle that tongue of yours before I rip it out."

Psionic responded by biting his hand. He grinned as Dualscar's blood dripped into his mouth, and Psionic began squirming to try and dislodge the larger demon. 

Dualscar moved his other hand to pinch Psionic's nose, forcing the other demon to open his mouth in order to breathe. Psionic bucked up with his hips, struggling to get up. 

\------

Sollux watched all this with wide eyes. He knew that when demons got together they tended to fight, but he'd never gotten the demon "birds and the bees" talk, which meant that he wasn't familiar with courtship. He just saw his dad on the ground, pinned by a much larger and supposedly more powerful demon. He thought the older psionic was in danger so he did the only thing he could do. 

Sollux climbed down a bit then leapt off the tree, bending his knees to absorb the shock as he landed on the roof then straightened up. He realized, as he turned to face the older demon, that he had absolutely no plan now that he'd gotten this far. 

The demon turned his head to look at Sollux. "And who is this?"

"An interessted party," the young psionic hissed. 

On the ground, Psionic's struggles increased and Dualscar smirked as he glanced at him. "I see." He looked back at Sollux. "Do you have any idea who you interrupted, boy?"

Sollux crossed his arms, regretting this decision more every moment. The other demon was clear very old, and even his underdeveloped demon sensing alerted him that he was powerful. Instead of showing his unease though, he merely shrugged. 

"Can't ssay I do. Are you going to tell me or jusst continue to sstare?"

Dualscar stood up, picked up his cane, then stepped away from the bound Psionic, towards his Sollux. 

"Orphaner Dualscar, lad."

Sollux shivered. This was the _Orphaner_? No wonder he'd been able to pin his dad. 

"You shouldn't have come here!" Psionic piped up from the ground. 

Sollux ignored him. "Never heard of you."

"Consider yourself lucky, most who have don't live long after." 

"Ssollux damn it, lissten to me!"

Sollux raised his chin a bit, then responded to his dad. "You looked like you could usse ssome help." 

"Dualsscar sstay away from him! No Sson, I had everything under control."

Dualscar grinned at that. "Oh, so he's your son? That makes this so much more interesting."

"I can handle thiss." Sollux said in response to his father. 

"Can you really?" Dualscar took a step toward the boy. "Would you like to put that to the test?"

Sollux wanted to back up. 

"Dualsscar, jusst come back here and leave him be."

"Oh sure, now you want my attention." His mouth curled into what could definitely be described as an evil smile. "You know, I have half a mind to dish out a little punishment for you Psii."

"Then do it! Jusst leave me sson alone. Thiss issn't funny Dual!" 

"No, you're right, it isn't."

"It'ss me you want!"

"I always want you, love." He looked at Sollux. And took another step toward the young demon. "And now I have you." 

He pulled the cane apart, revealing a short blade. 

Now Sollux took a small step back, then darted towards Psionic, who was still on the ground.

If the teenager hadn't been so concentrated on his Dad he would have noticed the purplish energy that had begun to surround the blade, extending it. 

He was just turning when Dualscar lunged, energy-blade slashing Sollux's side. He could feel it crackle as it cut into him and he stumbled to the side.

Dualscar grinned and readied himself for another swing, intending to cut Sollux down while he was still recovering from the first blow. 

As Dualscar began his arc however, Psionic pushed himself up with his wrists, and stood in front of his son right as Dualscar lunged forward, swinging his sword once more.

Psionic hissed as he took the hit intended for his son, chest bleeding where the blade slashed him. 

"Dad!"

"...You idiot." Dualscar said, as he realized what happened. 

"I jusst want him ssafe."

"Why, because you care about him?" He narrowed his eyes. "Yeah right."

"Of coursse I do! He'ss my sson Dual!" He protested, beginning to shake. 

Sollux's eyes widened as he noticed his father shaking. He got the picture, whatever was happening here, his presence was only making things worse. He didn't want to leave his dad, but he was only going to get hurt worse if he stayed. 

He gulped, then took a deep breath and dashed for the edge of the roof. 

If Dualscar noticed his flight, he didn't react, just turned on Psionic. 

"Well aren't you fucking _blessed_?"

"I wonder if that'ss becausse I actually have the capacity to care, unlike you Dual."

"And what's so great about caring?"

Sollux leaned over the edge of the roof, mouth going a little dry at the height. He might be able to jump to a nearby roof, but it was a long distance, he wasn't positive he'd make it. Behind him Psionic and Dualscar continued their conversation. 

"Becausse ssometimess it'ss nice to have ssomeone closse to you who won't try to kill you every two minutess. You can trust thosse you care about to watch your back."

Dualscar just laughed in reply. 

Sollux looked over the roof again. There was a balcony about halfway down, just a couple yards away. It would be more of a fall than a jump really, but it wasn't too far down… relatively.

He didn't glance back at the other two demons, who were continuing their argument, but instead moved so he was directly over the balcony. 

And jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive thanks to Inertia_Raptor and Capt0rvatiingcapt0r whose rps I based Dual and Psii's conversations on. \
> 
> I am so sorry about all the perspective switching, I hope everything made sense..


	4. Think Him as a Serpent's Egg

Sollux did not, unfortunately, hit the ground running. Instead, when his feet hit the balcony, the force of the jump pushed him to his knees, but after a moment, he picked himself up. Getting off the balcony was less difficult, he just climbed over the railing then dropped the far more manageable distance to the ground. This time, he landed easily on his feet. He turned to try and get a glimpse of whatever was happening on the roof behind him, but the building obscured his view. 

He put a hand on his bleeding side, then turned away, wishing he could help his dad but knowing he'd only be a distraction. It made his blood boil to leave, but nevertheless, he returned home. 

Because he'd fed so recently, the wound had already started closing up by the time he reached his front porch. The cut hadn't been that deep to begin with, so Sollux's skin easily knit itself back together, leaving only the splatter of blood on his ripped shirt as evidence of the injury. 

Hunters called the places demons called home 'nests' or, if they were feeling particularly generous, 'hives' but the place Sollux lived resembled not a woven bowl of sticks or a system of honeycombs, but rather a nice little suburban house. 

He stood on the placemat and pulled out his keys, hoping to get inside before any neighbors noticed him and got concerned about the blood on his shirt. He was almost positive that the woman who lived across from them thought he was in a gang. After all, he didn't go to school, and he often came home at completely inappropriate times of the night, sometimes with blood on his clothes. He'd noticed her peeping through her closed blinds a couple of times when he'd come home from late night excursions, but she'd never commented, so, for the moment at least, she wasn't a threat. 

He got inside, quickly closed the door, then headed straight to his room and, more importantly, his computer. He needed to talk to Karkat. 

Not bothering to deal with his bloody clothes quite yet, Sollux sat down and contacted his friend. Or, tried to, at least.

TA: KK

TA: KK tear your eye2 away from whatever 2appy romcom ii2 currently teariing apart your soul or whatever and talk to me

He tapped his fingers on his keyboard as he waited for a reply, but when it looked like none was coming, he typed out one last message. 

TA: fiine, ii gue22 ii won't be hunting with you toniight

Perhaps it was cruel to leave his friend hanging on that one, but he had more important issues to deal with, namely, bloody clothes. He got up and examined the damage. 

The hoodie was slashed, but it was a fairly small cut, and a quick inspection showed that his shirt had absorbed most of the blood. The hoodie was still usable then, the shirt… he should probably try and wash that out. 

A glance at his computer confirmed that Karkat hadn't responded yet, so he stripped off his shirt and headed to to the bathroom. First, he wet a warm towel and rubbed the blood off his unbroken skin, then he rooted through the bottles under the sink until he found the fabric cleaner. He wet the stain with warm water, sprayed it with the chemicals, then, since it had to sit for a couple minutes, returned to his computer. By that time, Karkat was online. 

CG: I MUST HAVE READ THAT WRONG BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE STAYING HOME AND ACTING NATURAL, WHATEVER THAT MEANS FOR YOU, YOU RAGING FUCKMUNCH.

He had a point, but Sollux really needed to get out right now, and preferably rip something over. Usually for demons that wasn't such a problem, they just grabbed someone off the street and satisfied their rage or desire or whatever, but Sollux was being a good demon, and anyway, he had hunters keeping an eye on him, so killing another demon was the next best thing. Besides, it might fight back. 

TA: yeah well ii've been thiinkiing, how ii2 actiing diifferent when ii know they 2u2pect me goiing two help anythiing?

CG: YOU KNOW THAT'S BULLSHIT.

TA: ju2t tru2t me

CG: IF SOME SHADY CHARACTER FROM EITHER OF OUR ASSHOLE ORGANIZATIONS COMES TO TAKE YOU AWAY BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING A FUCKING IDIOT, I'M NOT HELPING YOU. 

TA: 2ee you at the u2ual place?

CG: YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE. HALF AN HOUR?

TA: 2ee you then

Sollux closed his computer, effectively logging himself out. Good, he had a distraction secured. He could think about that demon- the Orphaner- and his involvement with his dad later, now, well, half an hour from now, it would be time to vent some frustration. First though, he returned to the bathroom to check on his shirt. 

He had about ten minutes before he needed to head out, and that stain was not going to come out in ten minutes. He scrubbed as much of it away as he could, then left the garment to soak in soapy water. Hopefully that would loosen the stain enough that he could just throw it in the wash when he got back. 

He threw on a new shirt and the same sweater, then headed out to go meet Karkat. 

\------------

Their meeting spot wasn't particularly special, or even covert, but it was inconspicuous, and that's what they had been going for. Basically, Sollux just stood somewhere in the local park and waited for Karkat to find him. 

This time, when his partner walked up, Sollux was paying attention. Though he'd heard his footsteps earlier, Sollux didn't turn until Karkat began talking. 

"So are you going to tell me what made you change your mind and put yourself in literally the most dangerous situation possible right now, or am I going to play the part of the understanding but worried secondary character who watches you get your ass kicked then steps in just at the right moment to see you actually had it together all along?" 

"Do you even have to assk, KK?"

Karkat literally face palmed as he sighed. "I don't know why I even bother. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help, but you're a fucking idiot, you know that?" 

"Duly noted." He looked around, "now let'ss go hunt some demon ass." 

Sollux ignored the look his partner shot him and headed towards the street. "Where firsst?" He asked, still walking. He wasn't willing to stop right now, because stopping meant thinking about things, and the entire point of this foray, which Karkat was right about, it was dangerous, was so that he wouldn't have to think. 

"There's been a string of murders in the financial district. The corpses basically don't have throats anymore, though their heads are all still attached. Police are starting to suspect a serial killer because the culprit rips off legs post-mortem." 

"That ssoundss like it'ss right up our alley." 

"I expect it's somewhat experience so be careful. You want me to cover for you, right?" 

"Yeah.. ssorry KK."

"Whatever, just promise to tell me what all this is about after you've ripped this guy's head off, alright?"

"You got it." 

They discussed tactics as they walked, although the plan was relatively simple. Walk around until they find the demon, probably taunt it a bit, then let Sollux do his thing (mostly with claws and teeth, though he had two knives in his belt, just in case) with Karkat covering him with a gun. 

\----------

"Hey assshole!" Sollux called out, walking a ways ahead of his partner. 

"You want to fight? I ssaw your ssloppy work on the newss yessterday and thought I'd better eliminate that incompetent grub before he expossess uss all. Maybe teach him a lessson on how to be a _real_ demon in the process."

Sollux thought he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be sure. 

"What are you too afraid to fight a real demon? Going to sslink through your dark alleyss and wait for ssome defensselesss pink monkey to come along becausse you're too sscared to attack anything elsse? Pathetic. Come out and fight me, if you're not afraid, I could pound you into-"

Sollux never got to finish that particular insult because at that moment, something large and heavy slammed into him, knocking him into the side of the nearest building. 

"I am more competent then you will ever be, whelp," the demon growled, pinning Sollux by the shoulders. 

He was about six three, at a rough guess, with broad shoulders and muscled arms, and a face contorted in rage. His teeth were straight, sharp and lined up in rows, reminding Sollux of a shark, and his claws were long, to the extent that they reminded Sollux of knives. He suddenly understood the state of all the victim's throats. 

He could have ended up with his throat in a similar state, had the demon not felt the need to prove himself and make this whelp suffer for daring to taunt him. Well, that was the point of the taunting. 

"Yeah, whatever you ssay," Sollux said before kneeing him in the groin. Okay, that was a distinctly human move, and he wasn't sure quite where he picked it up, but, as usual, it worked like a charm. The demon was so startled that he let go of Sollux in order to back away. 

The younger demon was on his feet almost immediately, and wasted no time in leaping to attack the other. He wasn't heavy enough to push him to the ground, but he dug his claws into the shark-toothed demon's shoulders and bit his neck. 

That earned him a roar as the other surged forward, slamming his back into the building. 

Sollux hissed and let go, giving the other a chance to grab his throat with one hand and lift him into the air. 

He had two options at this point, use psionics (he wanted something more carnal than that) or straight up stab him. Many low level demons didn't carry weapons around, so the second option was usually relatively unexpected. 

Sollux grabbed on of his knives and thrust it into the older demon's side, making him yell and squeeze tighter. 

"You little fucking shit," he growled as Sollux began gasping for air. "I will _end_ you." 

He raised his free hand, ready to tear into Sollux's throat. Before he could, the demon under his hand sparked and he was blown backwards about ten feet. Sollux fell to the ground, sparking and gasping, as the demon in the middle of the street groaned. 

Karkat took a couple steps closer, gun raised and ready to intervene, though he didn't shoot yet. Sollux just needed a second to get his breath back, he'd be fine. 

In fact, his partner was right, because a couple second later Sollux got to his feet and psionically blasted the other demon as he tried to do the same. He fell back down as Sollux approached him, his other knife in his left hand. 

"Fucking cheater!" the fallen demon screamed as Sollux stood over him. 

"Aww, are you jealouss I have cool powerss?" 

"You couldn't have gotten this far without them."

"I ssee your lame trick to try and make me angry and beat you without them, and raisse you an I don't fucking care. Ssay your lasst wordss sscum."

"Tell my Turner I-" rather than finishing that sure to be sentimental and heartbreaking thought, the demon lunged up and swiped his claws at Sollux, making the psionic jump back to avoid getting hit. Before he could launch another attack though, Sollux sprang forward and buried his knife deep in the larger demon's throat, then stepped back as he watched his blood gurgle out the opening that his hands desperately tried to close. 

He watched as the demon bled out. When he finally stopped moving, Karkat approached. 

"I'm thinking about gnawing off hiss leg, you know, for irony'ss ssake," Sollux said. 

"Well you've already destroyed his throat. I think you can probably stop there." 

Sollux got up and pulled his two knives out of the body, wiping the blood off on the demon's shirt. 

"Yeah, I guesss sso. I'd better sstart cutting him up.. Fuck, I should have thought about all thiss blood in the sstreet."

Karkat frowned at him. "You clearly have a lot on your mind. All in all though, that was impressive. Aside from nearly being asphyxiated you did that without a scratch." He looked down at Sollux's ripped sweatshirt. They both knew it had been whole earlier that day. Like a good friend though, Karkat chose not to comment. 

As they sliced up the body to drop in various dumpsters around the neighborhood, Karkat began talking. 

"Look, I know this really isn't the time for this, but you know why I became a hunter in the first place, right?" He said as he picked up a slab of what used to be a demon and was now just meat. 

Sollux opened the dumpster for him. "Your family wass sslaughtered by a demon who wass apparently unaware of your exhausstive sstamina and the fact that once you commit to a causse you never sstop."

"Yeah, well, I haven't told you everything. I mean, I didn't tell you details, because I don't want to think about them and you can probably guess most of what happened." He tossed in the meat, not looking at his friend. 

"I'd ssay that'ss fair." Sollux threw in his own piece of the demon, the last bit, then gently lowered the lid with his psionics. 

"Thanks. Anyway, I never told you that I actually know the name of the demon that did it." 

Sollux looked at him but Karkat wouldn't meet his eyes. 

"I didn't want to tell you," he continued, "because he's an ancient, and I thought, given your dad and all, you might actually know him. And anyway, this is, like I said, the worst possible time to be bringing it up given the position you're in-"

"KK, sspit it out." 

"Dualscar. That's his name, The Orphaner Dualscar." 

"Yeah, I'll help you."

After that, they talked about non-consequential things as they got rid of the rest of the body, each with the understanding that Karkat would contact his partner when he had a plan, and until then it was better not to mention this again. 

In truth, it would have been better not to mention it at all. Neither of them had noticed the pair of glowing eyes watching them from one of the rooftops, or that the owner of these eyes possessed unnaturally sensitive ears as well. 

Really, for a demon in such a position as Sollux's, he should be more careful about what he says when people may be listening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about how long that took to post. Hopefully the next one will come relatively more quickly, but I'm starting some original work as well as continuing to work on Strexstuck, so keep that in mind. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck with me this far, I really appreciate your comments and devotion. 
> 
> Also, that internet conversation was intentionally vague, because although Sollux is almost positive he could tell if someone had bugged his computer or could somehow see into the chatroom, it's always best not to broadcast that you're a demon working with a hunter on the internet. 
> 
> Next up, Sollux gets himself into trouble and we get a sneak peak into Dualscar's mind.


	5. Drink, Sir, is the Great Provoker of Three Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, well I'm really not getting any awards on posting time. What was that six months? (I think it was more) I'm really sorry guys, but school just killed me this year. That, and I've been trying to concentrate on more original stories. I AM still working on this though, and I have the entire thing planned out, so check back every once in a while, I promise you'll have a full fix at some point. Scout's honor.
> 
> Anyway, there's some chloroforming and kidnapping in this next chapter. Fun times for a demon in over his head. Ooh and alcoholism, woo!

When they had sliced up the body to the extent that the demon bits were unrecognizable (as was the entire corpse by that point) they ended their meaningless conversation and parted ways. Karkat headed back towards his apartment, and Sollux remembered he had a bloody shirt to deal with, so he should probably be getting home. 

He walked through the streets alone, as was his wont, completely unaware of the presence slinking through the alleys to his left. Though, even if he'd turned to look, he wouldn't have seen anyone there. Sollux was good at being stealthy and picking up on other's presences, but he wasn't trained to recognize professionals, and so he didn't notice the demon trailing him. 

Even if he had, it would only have delayed the inevitable. The demon tracking him was very experienced, and it was dark enough that even if she pulled Sollux right off the street, no one would notice, or perhaps more likely, given the neighborhood he was currently walking through, care. Still, one so experienced could afford a little personal flair, so rather than grabbing Sollux right off the streets, the woman vanished for a while. She'd surprise him later, after all, she knew where he lived. 

\-------------------------

For now though, lets check in on a different high level demon. One who, interestingly enough, also had a Captor to deal with. Rather than being an uppity teen though, the demon that was on his mind was just barely younger than this terrible little country itself. He should have stayed in England. If he'd stayed in England and enlisted in the navy like his father wanted, none of this would be a problem. He never would have met an upitty psionic that he loved to hate, much less an upitty psionic that he loved to hate with a son who was essentially sticking up his skinny little middle finger in a big fuck you to what amounted to the entire Coventry. He hadn't even talked to her in a century and he knew Condy was pissed. 

If there was one thing Dualscar knew, it was that you wanted to avoid Her Imperious Condescencion- well, always, really, but especially when she was pissed. He should know, he'd been in a relationship with her for- God, he needed a drink before even thinking about this. An entire bottle. Or maybe a bucket. Yeah, that sounded good. 

The Orphaner Dualscar, most senior demon in the Coventry (apart from their illustrious leader) got up out of the armchair in his study and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He selected a nearly full bottle of scotch, poured some ice in a glass, then filled it almost to the brim with the golden liquid. He took a long, undignified slurp before settling back down into his chair and sipping it from the glass like a normal person. 

Right, Condy. 

He remembered the day he'd met her. It was hard not to. Unlike his father- Oh god he needed another drink. Wow, barely started the story and the glass was already half empty. He refilled it. Unlike his father, he hadn't joined the Royal Navy. He hated rules, order and his father's expectations. That was probably why he liked the sea. It was vast, unruly, and she demanded a certain respect, but if you her that, well, you might as well be king of the world. 

But he wanted to do it on his own terms. He wouldn't volunteer for the Navy, no, he'd rather be a pirate. He saved up, got himself a small ship, a small crew, and began his life on the lamb from the law. 

This time his sip of the scotch is more appreciative. He enjoyed that one as a man should. This was good reminiscing scotch. 

Anyway, he was a good pirate. And on the seas it was kill or be killed and he was never killed. The day he met her, he'd taken on his most challenging haul yet. Urged on by his crew, he directed his ship to follow the wind, right alongside a ship that could belong to no one but the royal navy. 

He felt a certain satisfaction cutting down those men. He barely even looked at them as he did. A sword stroke, one man down, another, a small skirmish, that man had just been stabbed in the back. It all passed in a euphoric blur. 

He took a deep drink, then filled the glass back up. 

The bodies were still warm when he first saw her, and he barely felt tired. 

With blood on his sword and his crew looting belowdecks, he had a bit of time to investigate the woman that was standing on the deck like she owned the world. She had plenty of blood on her sword too, though it seemed only her sleeves were stained with red. 

Captivated by this woman, he stepped closer. If he hadn't, perhaps he would have died like a normal man. He certainly wouldn't be resigned to this life, a pawn in a never-ending relationship, powerful, but never enough, always under her. If he'd dismissed her as an illusion and gone to check on his crew, none of this would have happened. 

He wasn't smart enough to do that. She promised him everything. She promised to make him the most dreaded pirate the world had ever known, to make his name feared over the Seven Seas, comparable to BlackBeard or Sir Francis Drake, he could become a legend, or better yet, a nightmare that honest men fear when they see black sails on the horizon. 

Could you blame him that he listened? 

And the one catch, the only catch, was that he be hers. 

He gets to be a feared pirate and sport with a fair piece. He just had to remain at her beck and call for the foreseeable future. It was a relationship basically. He made sure he could stay on the seas, she confirmed and he agreed. 

She Turned him in the captain's quarters. 

He didn't realize why the room looked familiar until afterwards. 

She was beside him when he found his father's body, one of the men he'd battled when he took the ship. One of the men he'd killed. 

He proclaimed then and there that he would be the Demon of Suffering. The title Orphaner, what that little psionic brat had been calling him all evening, didn't come until later. 

He took a long drink. And then another. He could dwell on his relationship with the Condesce another night, how she played with him like a cat and a string, no, he didn't even have the dignity to be called a mouse, not given the way he'd pined after her, been desperate for her attention most times. Until the the past couple of decades. Sure, he'd had on and off relationships, but he always returned to the Demon Queen. 

And now she was threatening the son of his current love interest. A man who was already a demon, so they didn't need to deal with the unpleasantries of that particular reservation, and who was smart and quick and witty. A good sparring partner, and it seemed something more. 

He drank again, and this time continued until his eyes closed with one last thought. Why did she have to appear every time he thought he could possibly be happy?

And then he was out. 

\-----------------

And just as Dualscar passed out, The Handmaid stood on the front step of Sollux's house, and grinned when the boy saw her. Sollux immediately stepped back, eyes narrowing as he looked at the woman in front of his house. Everything about her screamed demon, though she showed no physical sign of being anything more than human. It must have been the way she leered at him as she said, "So this is the little hunter spy. I have to admit, I expected you to be less scrawny." 

She tutted and walked toward him, moving to cup his cheek. As soon as she touched him, he pulled out one of his knives and buried it in her side. Or, tried to. He looked down to see that his hand was stopped by a familiar force, though this time it was burgundy instead of red and blue. His eyes widened and he tried to pull away, but now her claws (he could see she had claws now) were grabbing his chin and digging into his cheek. 

"Ah ah ah, so violent for such a young thing." 

"I'll show you violent!" He hissed, then sent a powerful blast of psionics right at her. She danced out of the way, so all he managed to do was singe his front door. He growled and threw a more concentrated bolt, but this one she deflected with her own psionics and sent right back at him. He stumbled back as the blow hit him directly in the chest. 

She advanced without giving him a moment to recover, and then punched him in the same spot the psionics had just hit, hard enough to send him to the ground. She immediately pinned him down then got something out of her pocket and said, "Oh sweetie, I think you got something on your face, let me get that for you," before pressing a handkerchief to his face. 

He tried to protest, probably yell something obscene, but as he opened his mouth, everything started to get fuzzy and a moment later his eyes closed and his head fell back. The Handmaid smirked, put away the handkerchief, then picked up the limp body and headed toward her own house.


	6. How All Occasions do Inform Against Me

When Sollux's eyes opened, the first thing he realized was that he still couldn't see. He briefly entertained the thought that he was still passed out, but his head hurt too much for that to be the case. And something tight and sticky was wrapped around his wrists and legs. Duct tape. An attempt to move his arm confirmed his suspicions, he was bound. 

That's right, some woman had been standing in his yard, then attacked him. She'd held a cloth to his face… This was planned. 

Shit shit shit. 

This had to be the Coventry's doing. Why else would a _demon_ kidnap him? They knew who he was, what he was doing. He had to get out of here before that woman came back. Or someone worse came. 

He tapped his fingers against the hard wood of the chair he seemed to be sitting in. It was varnished, and roundish. It seemed far fancier than anything that would be in a cell, and the room was cold. He also realized that if he was in a cell, his captor would probably have better resources than just tape and whatever was being used as a blindfold. As far as he could tell, he was in a house. 

Which… didn't really make sense, but that was the least of his concerns. 

He wiggled his hands and feet, trying to figure out how much he could move them. He could nearly fully rotate his wrists, but his feet were against the legs of the chair, they could barely move. 

It was while he was experimenting with his bindings that his captor walked into the room. 

"You're awake. Good." 

He didn't move. That was probably the best plan, figure out what she wants before he could accidentally give anything away. 

"You really weren't as difficult to catch as I had expected. Numerous colleagues warned me to be careful of the demon spy. But you went down just like any teenager out after curfew."

Had his eyes been uncovered, he would have glared at her. 

"Oh, don't worry about it too much, you can't help that you're inexperienced. Though why the hunters would send such a young boy to do such a delicate job is beyond me." 

"Nobody ssent me to do anything," he growled. 

"You kill other demons for fun then?"

He decided maybe it was best to just shut up after that. 

"Or what about that hunter boy you were with? I suppose you're right, that didn't look like an _assigned_ partnership."

No response. 

"That's what I thought. That's adorable. You know, I'm all for inter-species couples, but only when they end with one of them dead. And then the survivor goes back to their family and realizes how silly they were, thinking that could ever work." 

His claws dug into the armrest of the chair. 

"There is one thing I have to wonder though. Did you really believe you were a match for an Ancient?" 

Oh, was that what this was about? 

"You mean you? I didn't know you were that powerful, jusst old." 

He smirked in response to her snarl, then sparked a little when she slapped him. He couldn't see, but now it was her turn to grin. She'd just had an idea. 

"One last question you insolent boy. What do you know of the demon Darkleer?" 

"The Exile? What does he have to do with anything?" Shit, he probably shouldn't have mentioned that he knew who she was talking about… 

She grabbed his hand. Then shifted her grip so it was just on his fingers. And pushed back. 

"What do you know," she said, focusing on just a single finger, bending that dangerously far and allowing the rest to fall back, "about Darkleer?" She put more pressure on his finger. It was clear what she was saying. Answer, or I'll break it. 

"Nothing! I mean, nothing anyone else doesn't. He's sickly from not eating and not a threat." The pressure was still there. "To either side!" That seemed to satisfy her. At least she left his finger alone. 

"And your plans concerning the Orphaner?" 

"My what?" She'd heard something, clearly. And it sounded like she already knew the answer to her questions, even though he failed to provide them. 

"Your father's new friend, how do you feel about him?" 

"That'ss none of your fucking concern," he hissed. To his unending frustration, all she did was hum. 

"Mm. I see. thank you. Do you prefer red or white?"

"What?" He was saying that a lot recently. He didn't like being kept in the dark like this- literally. 

"Wine, silly. Red or white?"

"I don't drink."

"Red looks more like blood. That might make you more comfortable. Although poor thing, you can't actually see it." 

She walks away, leaving him with his thoughts for a moment. There doesn't seem to be anyone else in the house, and he's sure it /is/ a house, so maybe this is all a bit more impromptu than the kidnapping seemed to suggest. He almost considering attempting to escape (now that his headache had worn off some, he was pretty sure he could control his psionics) but she was just in the other room. She'd hear before he could get anywhere. Speaking of, those were her footsteps. 

He felt something cold touch his lips. Glass. Specifically a glass. Probably filled with red wine. 

He could feel the woman tipping it up, so he'd be forced to swallow the liquid. He stubbornly closed his lips. 

"Good boy, drink up."

She tipped the glass so far that liquid overflowed onto his face. He could feel droplets dribbling down his chin. 

"There you are. You're not a proper host if you don't serve your guest alcohol, and I am an excellent host." 

Sollux had his own opinions on that point, but he didn't dispute it. Luckily, she didn't stick around. She must have been wearing heels, because he could hear every one of her steps on the must be wooden floor, including the clacking that got steadily fainter until he couldn't hear anything anymore. 

He was alone. 

As he suspected, there was some sort of psionic suppressant in the drink, he could already feel his psionics buzzing in response. He didn't think he'd ingested enough for it to do much, but it was best to do this quickly. 

He had duct tape on his wrists and ankles… he'd need to cut it. 

A moment of concentration later and he was blinking as the bandana that had been blindfolding him fell from his eyes. He looked around the room when his vision adjusted. 

He was in, as he'd expected, on overly furnished house. He himself was bound to a wooden chair, but the rest of the house was various shades of plush red, from the grandmother-y couch to the fabric covered walls. Sollux didn't care about the old lady decor though, he was far more concerned with the dining table not twenty feet away. He could see the straps of the belt he usually tucked his knife into on the table top. Suppressing the revulsion he felt at the idea of her getting close enough to actually take the belt off, he searched for- there, that glint was his knife. 

He took a deep breath and focused on his buzzing psionics. He was far better at throwing bursts of crackling energy, but he could do the precision stuff when the situation necessitated it. This situation did. 

With enough concentration, the knife, surrounded by red and blue energy, slowly levitated up from the table and toward him. 

It was within grabbing distance now, but as much as he wanted to let his much surer hands take over from this point on, the woman hadn't left him with enough mobility to cut himself out, he'd have to do this psionically. And hope that tape was the only thing he cut. 

He slowly, ever so slowly, turned the knife so the tip was poised to bury into the tape, then moved his wrist as far out of the danger area as possible. When he was almost sure he wasn't going to accidentally stab himself, he slowly pushed the knife tip into the tape, then forced it to move in a sawing motion until he had made a decent sized rip in the silver substance. He removed the knife and allowed it to drop with relief (and he wasn't going to lie, he felt a small bit of satisfaction at how it buried into the woman's wooden floor) and then strayed his muscles to pull up and widen the tear. Soon enough he had his dominant hand free. 

He leaned down to retrieve his knife, then easily freed the rest of his limbs now that he was no longer relying on his shaky psionics. 

Able to stand at last, he ran to the table put on his belt and tucked the knife safely next to his hip, then looked for a way out. 

The kitchen was right next to the room he'd been in, and he could see it had a small window with a latch. He was pretty sure he could fit through that. 

It was a close fit, but he managed. Then, after a couple of minutes of navigating roofs, he found a favorably placed dumpster and was once again on the street. It was still dark, so he couldn't have been out long. 

Now careful to make sure he wasn't being followed, he headed towards Karkat's apartment.


End file.
